


Fragment Restoration

by ooa113y



Series: Fragmented Friendships [1]
Category: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni | Higurashi When They Cry, Umineko no Naku Koro ni | When the Seagulls Cry
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:55:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27550387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ooa113y/pseuds/ooa113y
Summary: Two girls. Blue hair. A broken fragment. Put it back together.
Series: Fragmented Friendships [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2015933
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Fragment Restoration

A black void. A table. A chair. A girl with long blue hair sitting on it, sipping wine.

Another girl, with hair a slightly brighter shade. No, perhaps it would be more accurate to call this other one more bright in general, not just her hair, but the rest of her body and mind. Still very dim compared to the sight of a regular Human, though.

The brighter girl approaches. She sits down. She looks at the adult, despaired and broken mirror image across from her. She rubs her eyes. She concludes that she must have drunk too much, and that she is dreaming.

The mirror lets a faint smile cross her lips. She addresses her younger sibling by name. A name that used to be her own, but is no more. A name that she held dear to her heart at one point, but now wishes she could stomp out of her memory.

The younger acknowledges, with worry. She was, indeed, "Rika Furude". No longer sure if this is a dream, she looks over at the other one and requests her name.

The other taps the wine bottle.

And again.

An annoyed look on her face.

A sigh.

She says it out loud at last.

The void grows darker. It meows.

Rika giggles half-heartedly. She certainly wanted to drown in wine in the past. She did not expect it to become her identity. 

She prompts Bernkastel to talk. She needs to know why she is here, and what is wanted of her.

The other one shrugs. She pours Rika some wine, but is met with refusal. Bern downs the bottle.

She pulls another one from somewhere. It is opened, and a glass is poured yet again. The glass is shaken around in Bern's hand for a while.

Bern holds her head. She concludes she will have to explain everything from scratch to this unexpected guest. She insists on being joined in the consumption of alcohol. 

She doesn't think a sober person can take this. 

She is refused once more.

The void hisses.

She shakes her head.

She begins to explain. Explain that she is the wine. Explain that Rika, in her despair, managed to use the wine to call upon her. Explain that she was dragged into a hundred-year conflict because of the drunk schoolgirl. Go on for hours. Point out that she is free at last, and would rather be left alone.

She cannot be left alone.

Rika can't leave.

The void growls.

Rika apologises. Bern knows it isn't her fault.

The two join hands. The older sister hovers through the sea of fragments. The younger follows, looking for hers.

It isn't found. Somehow, it has evaporated. It will have to be created anew.

The two gather their memories. Memories of a hundred years. Memories of a thousand. Some relevant memories. Many irrelevant, useless ones. Many embarrassing, terrifying ones. Memories pervaded with the smell and taste of wine.

This one. No, this is Bernkastel's. A memory of war eternally delayed. No need for this one.

This one. Could have been either one's. This person is Mion. Or Shion. Bernkastel couldn't quite remember the name, but it was probably one of those. She's busy killing some girl here. The girl sure looks a lot like Lambda. Both are disgusted by this one. But it is taken. It is needed.

Another. An intricate garden maze. Poisonous, sharp plants. An axe bolted to the ground on every corner. Rika is worried, Bernkastel smiles. Fun times with the girlfriend. But it is thrown away. No need for it here.

Another. An island. Bern looks away quickly. Too boring and too recent to remember. Rika stares on for a while. Another blue-hair is seen. Rika shakes her head. The fragment's discarded instantly.

This one. Keiichi. Rena. Reina? No, Rena. The two are fighting to kill each other on the rooftop. The fragment is taken.

Wine is offered and refused. The void howls. The void is told to shut up.

This. Guts being torn out of someone. Not sure who. Not sure whose fragment this is. Could be either. It is taken, just in case.

A nurse. A syringe. A photographer. They appear to be engaged in… well. The fragment is taken.

Wine is offered. It is refused. Slower this time. More doubt. Rika sighs. The void complains.

Satoko. Abused and hurt, driven to the corners of despair. Insanity. The fragment is taken with a shaking hand.

Krauss in a spacesuit, on the moon. The fragment is discarded after being stared at for a while.

A cage with bunnies. The bunnies turn human and murder. The fragment is discarded.

An apartment. A lover. No, a cheater. The fragment is brutally discarded.

A giant mouth. Someone being eaten. Bernkastel smiles. The fragment is discarded.

The mountain dogs. Countless villagers being murdered. The fragment is taken.

The collection is not appealing to look at for either of them. This should be enough to attempt a restoration. Bernkastel queries whether this is actually wanted. Rika nods.

Wine is offered. It is refused once more, with a lot of thought. The void grumbles.

The fragments are approached. One by one, they are flipped over.

A girl taking care of her adoptive little sister.

A fun water gun fight.

A fun date between two lovers.

A girl with her brother.

Countless traps, taking down villains.

Happy memories on the other side of the sad ones. Memories Rika would come back to in a few minutes.

Bernkastel flips her fragments. She finds nothing. She sighs.

Wine is offered. It is accepted. A single sip. A step through the portal of the fragments. 

Bernkastel is the wine. Unnecessary. Useless. Unstable. Depressing. Never around in a good fragment. And yet, she is accepted.

The void grows eternally silent.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This was a weird experiment. The idea here was two-fold for me. First, I wanted to write a story in one go, a short one, because my existing works are all rather long.  
> The second concept came to me later. "A story of people talking without dialogue". I figured I could combine this with the short story idea because it sounded difficult to write.  
> And it was difficult. I doubt I'll do this again, at least not on the scale of a full work, even a short one.  
> I don't really think very highly of this work, but I also spent just an hour on it (and that's mostly because I typed it all on my phone...), so it's not too much of a waste if it wasn't good.


End file.
